Sermons by the Rev. Louis A. Dole (1885-1964)

There are already over 80 sermons posted on the site. I am adding more almost every day. These classic sermons, written and delivered more than half a century ago, are full of practical wisdom based on the Bible and the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772).

About the Louis A. Dole Sermon Archive

The Rev. Louis A. Dole (1885-1964) served as assistant pastor of the New Jerusalem Church in Urbana, Ohio (c. 1916-1920). During those years he also taught at Urbana Junior College (now Urbana University), and in his last two years there served as its Principal. He then served as pastor of the New Jerusalem Churches in Fryeburg, Maine (c. 1920-1937) and Bath, Maine (1937-1964).

Louis Dole was married to Anita S. Dole, who was an outstanding Bible and Swedenborg scholar in her own right. She wrote an excellent and extensive set of Bible Study Notes that are still in print today. The Louis A. Dole Sermon Archive now brings the fine New Church (Swedenborgian) scholarship of her husband to the public.

The sermon texts archived on this site are based on scans of the original typed sermons. They are edited only slightly for the convenience of present-day readers. For example, Roman numerals have been changed to Arabic numerals, and the formatting has been modernized. Aside from an occasional typo fix, the text itself is otherwise unchanged. For each sermon, a link is provided to an Acrobat file of the original sermon scan.

Very few of the original sermons are dated, nor do most of them have titles. For the untitled ones I have supplied titles from the Bible text that is the focus of each sermon.

These sermons hail from a bygone era. As such, they may present a challenge for present-day readers. However, for those with the dedication to master their terse and direct style, they contain many gems of spiritual and practical wisdom.

I have found that one reading of a Louis Dole sermon is not enough to gain access to that wisdom. I recommend re-reading and meditating on each sermon until the spiritual light begins shining through those precious gems into your mind and spirit.

On a personal note, the Rev. Louis A. and Anita S. Dole were my grandparents. Though they died when I was very young, their legacy of reading and meditating on the Word of God in the light of the spiritual teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), and sharing with the world the precious insights gained, lives on in my heart, mind, and life.

This archive, then, is also a tribute to my maternal grandparents’ life and work.

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Lee Woofenden is an ordained minister, writer, editor, translator, and teacher. He enjoys taking spiritual insights from the Bible and the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg and putting them into plain English as guides for everyday life.

4 comments on “Louis A. Dole Sermon Archive”

This will be a very interesting study for me. I grew up in the New Church in Portland, Maine. WE had a lay minister Michael B Salvetti who would read a sermon each week from the Rev. Louis Dole. It will be interesting to see if I remember any of them. I did not ever miss church before I was 18 years old.